THE WAR THAT NEVER WAS
2000 years before the beginning of our story, an epic war took place between the Two Great Tribes of the planet AHKAM \ pronounced \ ah-‘calm\. There had been brief periods when the nomadic, war-like, tribal confederation known as the Nigan Natec were willing to put aside their internal devisions and surmount huge offenses against what they saw as the greater evil; the other great tribal confederation the Nakaw Nac. An incredibly formidable enemy, the Nakaw Nac lived in walled cities, with religious temples and practiced agriculture. The Nigen Natec organized a huge offense on the largest Nakaw Nac city, Ani. This battle was one of the largest ever known and became known as “The War That Never Was”.
During this historic, bloody battle an event of the greatest importance took place - one that would define the course of history for two civilizations light-years apart. A mysterious, flaming object careened through the night sky, passing just above the heart of the battle, skipped across the water and came to rest on the shores of Lake Ani. The massive sonic boom caused the fighting to cease almost immediately.
The warlords from both tribes gathered together on the shore to gaze at the smoking ruin that had just crashed. Resting in the center of the flames and smoke of this twisted metal object lay a shining golden disk.
The timing of this fireball from the sky was seen by all as divine intervention. This event became part of the culture’s mythology. It became known as Chromos Eve, and is the point in time when all calendars on planet Ahkam begin. While there is some truth to this story, it is laced with mysticism, coincidental timing, and scientific improbability. The stories of this night have been passed down for generations and are the equivalent to the Old Testament in the Bible.
The object that fell from the heavens that night was the Voyager 1 spacecraft, all but destroyed. Miraculously, the Golden Record remained intact. It took the next 500 years for Ahkamian society to develop technology to listen to it.